Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video (Red)

Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HSThis review is 99% about photographs, not video. For this camera’s impressive Full HD (1080p) video capability see many other reviews here. Included with this review are some ELPH 300 pictures I took of flowers in my neighborhood, showing sharp detail and nice blurred backgrounds. (Look for the ants in the two pink camelias.)It’s November of 2019, and I sit here to review a Canon pocket camera that was first listed on Amazon in February 2011, almost 9 years ago. It should be obvious that a digital camera this old can’t be very good compared to those being released now, but that is not the case. This is still a great little camera, and with all the used ones out there, one can be had for less than $100. In fact, I bought mine just a few weeks ago for $75 on Amazon, and what a deal that turned out to be! For image quality this camera is better than a number of newer comparable Canon pocket cameras on the market, e.g. the ELPH 180 (release date 2016) which I also own.Because the PowerShot ELPH 300 HS has been out for so long, there’s no point in me covering all the specs and features; these can be found in the many Amazon reviews and on video reviews on the web. Instead, I’ll mention the few features that I have found to be the most impressive and most important to me. In order of importance the critical “must have” features of any point and shoot are 1) image quality, 2) ease of use, and 3) portability. All other “modern” features such as connectivity, GPS, etc. are nice but pale in comparison.I’m not a professional photographer nor even an accomplished enthusiast. I do shoot with a DSLR when I feel the urge, but more often I use a high-end point and shoot, the Canon G7X. With a fast 1.8 lens, 20.2 Mpixels, and large 1” sensor, the G7X produces outstanding photographs. I love my G7X, but I also like having a smaller and lighter alternative in my pocket for everyday use. Enter the PowerShot ELPH 300 HS.>> First, portability:This is a very small and lightweight camera. It’s very thin and with an area only a little bigger than a credit card. Some users with big hands might find the small size a drawback, but I don’t. Because it’s so light I can carry this camera in my pocket all day long, and I hardly notice that it’s there. I can’t say the same for the larger and heavier G7X. The power button is recessed, so the camera never gets accidentally turned on in my pocket. Note: Because of its very light weight, it is easy to introduce camera shake. A faster shutter speed should alleviate this.>> Second, ease of use:It’s almost axiomatic that the more features a camera offers the more difficult it is to learn to use. But one approach is to offer a carefully selected set of features and no more. This is what Canon has done with the ELPH 300, striking a balance between versatility and simplicity.This camera has two basic modes – AUTO and PROGRAM. Toggling back and forth between these is accomplished with a handy little slide switch on the back of the camera. AUTO is self-explanatory. Put the camera on AUTO, focus, and shoot; the camera does it all for you, and almost every picture will be satisfactory. On the other hand, PROGRAM mode gives the user many options, including white balance and several special scenes such as portrait, low light, kids&pets, high speed burst, etc. These are fun to play with, but for me the two most important features of PROGRAM mode are Exposure Compensation and the ability to set the ISO.Exposure Compensation: Many times the key subject in a picture will be either over exposed or under exposed if the camera is allowed to strike a balanced exposure in the scene. A good example is a person who is back lit by a bright sky. The Exposure Compensation allows the user to temporarily increase or decrease the exposure so as to properly expose the subject. On the ELPH there is a dedicated button on the back of the camera, making it extremely simple to make this adjustment. This button works only if the camera is in PROGRAM mode.ISO: In AUTO mode there is no control over ISO, shutter speed, or aperture. I have found that under ordinary lighting conditions the ELPH 300 will shoot in its “basic ISO” of 100 in AUTO mode. But by raising the ISO in PROGRAM mode, it is possible to “force” the camera to use a faster shutter speed while keeping the larger aperture for nice blurred backgrounds. At some point “noise” or graininess will become apparent at higher ISO settings, but I have found that a setting as high as ISO 400 (two stops above the base ISO) is fully acceptable.>> Third, image quality:The ELPH 300 HS has 12.1 Mpixels on a 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CMOS sensor. There are newer Canon pocket cameras with many more Mpixels on the same small sensor. In my opinion, 12 Mpixels is quite high resolution, high enough for sharp prints 9.3 x 14.3 inches, and if more megapixels are crammed onto the same sized sensor the quality of the image suffers. (See on line reviews about this.) There are 16 Mpixels on the same 1/2.3" sensor in the ELPH 130 & 180 and 20 Mpixels in the ELPH 360, and some reviews have noted the poorer picture quality. So unless the sensor size is increased along with the pixel count, there is likely to be a negative effect on image quality. I think with the ELPH 300 Canon has hit the sweet spot with the number of pixels on this little sensor.Another positive feature is the relatively fast lens on this camera, f/2.7 at its widest aperture. The ELPH 130 & 180, by comparison have only a f/3.2 lens, and the ELPH 360 has a f/3.6 lens. The faster lens (lower number) makes the camera better in low light, and it also makes it easier to blur the background for nice “bokeh” and shoot at higher shutter speeds.Colors are bright and rich, just what you’d expect, considering Canon’s legendary color rendition made possible by the DIGIC processor (version 4 in this case).Although Canon cameras are not famous for their autofocusing capability, I have experienced no more frustration with this camera than on my other Canon cameras. I think the slow autofocusing of Canon cameras is more of an issue with videos than with single shot photography.Bottom line – this is an outstanding little camera for its cost, size, features, and image quality. I give it a strong 5 stars. I have noticed some 1- or 2-star reviews mentioning mechanical glitches such as the lens not extending or retracting, but so far I have had no issues of this type. Because I bought this little gem for my wife, I am considering buying a second one before they’re no longer available. The cell phone camera has virtually killed the pocket camera, and as I lamented in my review of the excellent Canon PowerShot SD 1400 HS, little pocket cameras will one day soon no longer be available. So I recommend getting one now while you still can.

I'm a DSLR photographer who shoots professionally and has managed a camera store in the past. I wanted something I can take with me everywhere but still produces good quality shots. I also wanted a camera that could shoot good looking videos. I researched several models and after much deliberation decided on the Canon 300 HS. I'm very happy I did.Image Quality:I tested cameras and lenses all the time while managing the camera store so whenever I purchase a new camera or lens I always test it. The Canon 300 HS doesn't produce the quality of images my Nikon D7000 does but I didn't expect it to. The edges get a little soft with the 300 HS when looking at the image at 100% whereas the D7000 images are almost tact sharp.Comparing the 300 HS to the Canon Powershot SD1000 from a few years ago, the 300 HS blows it out of the water. The SD1000 is a 7 MP camera. Shooting the same shots on a tripod with the same focal length on the lens the 300 HS uses its extra MPs well. When looking at the images from each camera at 100%, at the wide angle zoom setting and normal zoom setting both cameras have about the same relative slight softness on the edges. However the 300 HS has more MP so it actually produces much more detail in the image. I think it was smart for Canon to keep the MP at 12 because last years models while being 14 MP (SD1400) didn't give any extra detail from what I could tell than the 12 MP version (SD1300). The SD1400 was basically just creating larger files. When zooming in the telephoto setting the 300 HS clearly produced a sharper image than the SD1000. Often cameras have sweet spots in the zoom range in which it will produce crisper images. The 300 HS has consistently good sharpness throughout it's zoom range.HS system and ISO:The image processing with the HS system truly works to reduce noise at higher ISOs enabling people to produce better quality images in low light. The improvement in image quality gets more and more visible the greater and greater the ISO. ISO 400 with the 300 HS was almost as good as ISO 200 on the SD1000. ISO 800 on the 300 HS was a tad better than ISO 400 on the SD1000. ISO 1600 on the 300 HS was between ISO 400 and 800 on the SD1000. ISO 3200 on the 300 HS produced the same quality of image (noise) as ISO 800 on the SD1000. A 2 stop in film speed improvement is big.1080p video and slow motion:With good light, the 300 HS produces wonderful smooth 1080 videos. If you look at a lot of HD videos from compact cameras the video often looks jumpy. From what I've seen it wasn't until you got to the Canon G12 or Panasonic LX5 that the video looked smooth. Both of those cameras only shoot 720p whereas this camera shoots 1080p. The video also very good detail. It truly looks HD.If you are wanting zoom and continuous AF with your video this camera is the one you want compared to the 100 HS which doesn't allow you to zoom. The continuous AF with face recognition is stellar with this camera in video mode. I was videoing my wife while she was driving. It focused on her face. I switched to the scenery outside. It immediately focused on that. I then went back to my wife and it found her face and focused on it right away. I even videoed her reflection in the rear view mirror and it found her face in the mirror no problem and focused on it. AMAZING!!!!Commenting on a complaint I've read about the zoom being slow in video mode. If you like getting motion sickness whenever someone rapidly zooms in or out during their video this is not your camera. As smooth looking as the video is, the zoom is also. The smooth zoom creates nice looking transitions instead of warp speed ahead looks.The slow motion is a fun feature that works well. You need to have good lighting though. In low light even with high ISO's it produced very dark videos. In a review someone commented that it should have sound with the slow motion video. I honestly don't know how that could work unless you want to listen to everything at 1/5 it's normal speed. I think it's a good thing that it doesn't have sound with the slow motion videos.AF:I commented on AF partially in the video portion of the review. It does have several AF modes for various situations. The face detection works great. If you have a person in the picture but want something other than the person to be in focus you will need to change AF modes from face detection. The reviewer that had the problem with the 300 HS focusing on things he didn't want the camera to focus on likely didn't have the correct AF mode for the shooting situations. The 300 HS does have a center AF if you prefer that.Areas for Canon to improve on with the 300 HS:The camera is so well thought out that I'm surprised Canon let this slip. I love having a wide angle zoom go down to 24mm. It's great for scenery and photojournalist type shots. If you shoot at the widest angle zoom and use the flash, the lens on the 300 HS blocks the flash's exposure on the bottom right corner of the image. The corner is completely black. If you zoom in a bit so you aren't at the widest angle setting when using the flash you will be fine. Still all Canon had to do is not put the flash so close to the lens.When shooting video in lower light situations the video does start to get noisy and grainy quicker than some other cameras.Conclusion:All in all this is a wonderfully thought out camera with great image quality and image processing and it shoots stellar videos for it's compact size.